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On March 10, in a 67-32 vote, the U.S. Senate confirmed Lori Chavez-DeRemer to serve as secretary of the U.S. Department of Labor. Sens. Rand Paul, R-Ky., Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and Ted Budd, R-N.C., voted against Chavez-DeRemer, while seventeen Democrats voted for her. The Senate floor vote to confirm her follows a Feb. 19 Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee hearing and a Feb. 27 14-9 vote to advance her nomination.
On March 11, Chavez-DeRemer was sworn in, stating in a DOL news release, “I’m deeply grateful for this opportunity to continue serving my country, and I’ll work tirelessly to help President Trump put the American Worker First. This administration has a clear mandate to renew the American Dream for hardworking men and women across the country. As a small businesswoman and the daughter of a Teamster, I will act on my experience and work with business and labor to support good-paying jobs, grow our economy, and ensure every American can enjoy a comfortable retirement.”
Kristen Swearingen, ABC vice president of legislative & political affairs, gave the following statement to Engineering News-Record regarding Chavez-DeRemer’s confirmation.
“ABC is hopeful that we can find common ground,” said Swearingen. “All Americans––nonunion and union––deserve a labor secretary and DOL leader who will create the conditions so that every worker and job creator can choose how to achieve their career dreams and prosper in a safe and healthy environment.”
Swearingen went on to say that ABC intends to hold Chavez-DeRemer to her confirmation testimony commitments in late February to protect all workers and support right-to-work laws and secret ballot elections. ABC, which represents mostly nonunion contractors, also said it still stands “vehemently opposed to the Protecting the Right to Organize Act and all of its components.”
Prior to President Donald Trump’s nomination of Chavez-DeRemer, the ABC-led Coalition for a Democratic Workplace expressed concern with her previous support for the PRO Act.
Chavez-DeRemer becomes the 30th labor secretary in U.S. history, and the first to be confirmed to the role since former Boston Mayor Marty Walsh left the Biden administration in early 2023.
On March 11, in a 217-213 vote, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 1968, a continuing resolution to keep the government funded at current levels through the end of fiscal year 2025. Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., was the lone Republican to vote against the measure, while Rep. Jared Golden, D-Maine, was the only Democrat to vote in favor.
Passage of the CR is a major win for Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., and House Republicans, who navigated a slim GOP majority to get the bill across the finish line in the House as the March 14 government funding deadline rapidly approaches. Ahead of the vote, President Donald Trump called on House Republicans to “remain united” with “no dissent,” and went as far as making personal phone calls to reluctant members.
The measure now faces its final test in the GOP-controlled U.S. Senate, where it needs to reach the 60-vote threshold to overcome the Senate filibuster. “It’s going to be up to Chuck Schumer and the Senate Democrats to do the right thing,” Johnson said ahead of the vote. With Republicans holding a 53-47 majority, Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-S.D., must poach at least seven Democrats, assuming all of his Republican colleagues vote for the measure. The chamber will need to move quickly in order to get the bill to President Trump’s desk and avoid a funding lapse on Saturday.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs can’t make its mind up about application of the Biden administration’s controversial policy requiring project labor agreements on solicitations for federal construction contracts of $35 million or more.
Less than two weeks after restoring merit-based competition for taxpayer-funded contracts to build VA hospitals, outpatient facilities, office buildings, national cemeteries and other construction projects, the VA has reversed course again.
The VA’s Feb. 13 FAR Class Deviation Memo—released to the public on Feb. 20—cites the change in policy on account of a January decision by the U.S. Court of Federal Claims that ruled in favor of experienced ABC members and other federal contractors who filed 12 bid protests against three federal agencies that mandated PLAs in solicitations for construction services.
According to the VA’s rescinded memo:
“The Court found that the agencies’ 2024 implementation of E.O. 14063, specifically, the functionality of the mandate as applied to the individual contracts in this case stifles competition and violates the statutory directive that agencies must promote ‘full and open competition’ in federal procurements unless a statutory justification is properly invoked. No injunction relief was included in the order.
“Due to the Court of Federal Claims decision, effective immediately, contracting officers shall not use project labor agreements for large-scale construction projects, implemented at Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) subpart 22.5 and 36.104(c). The FAR clauses at FAR 52.222-33, Notice of Requirement for Project Labor Agreement, and FAR 52.222-34, Project Labor Agreement, shall not be enforced in any solicitation.”
However, the VA rescinded this memo within two weeks of its issuance and restored PLA mandates. A VA bid solicitation for design-build services to replace the seismically deficient Animal Research Buildings 47 and 104 at Sepulveda Ambulatory Care Center in North Hills, California, reinstated a previously revoked PLA on March 3.
“The VA’s latest posture towards PLA mandates makes little sense in the face of recent legal decisions and efforts by other federal agencies to eliminate inflationary and anti-competitive PLA mandate policies,” said Ben Brubeck, ABC vice president of regulatory, labor and state affairs. “ABC will continue to push to make fair and open competition a reality governmentwide and will get to the bottom of the VA’s flip-flop.”
On Feb. 19, ABC celebrated a new policy by the U.S. General Services Administration that will restore merit-based competition for contracts to build land port of entry projects procured by the GSA.
“The GSA’s new policy eliminates former President Joe Biden’s controversial rule requiring anti-competitive, inflationary, union-favoring project labor agreements on federal construction projects of $35 million or more––but only for GSA solicitations to build critical land port of entry projects,” said Brubeck in an Engineering News-Record article.
“Requiring a PLA on LPOE projects would not advance the Federal Government’s interests in achieving economy and efficiency in Federal procurement because the need for LPOE modernizations is of an unusual and compelling urgency and requiring a PLA would be impracticable,” wrote GSA Senior Procurement Executive Chair Jeff Koses in the PLA exception memo. “A current administration priority is to remedy the emergency on the United States borders.”
Koses is a member of the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council that issued a rule effective Jan. 22, 2024, implementing Biden’s Executive Order 14063 mandating PLAs on large-scale federal construction projects of $35 million or more.
The abrupt policy changes from the GSA and the VA follow a Pentagon class deviation memo––celebrated by ABC––announcing that the U.S. Department of Defense has halted PLA mandates on all military construction projects.
Of note, the DOD and the VA issued class deviation memos. In contrast, the GSA issued a PLA exception waiver from its senior procurement executive consistent with the Biden FAR rule, which appears to be the first PLA exception waiver ever granted by a federal agency under the Biden administration’s PLA mandate policy.
All other federal civilian agencies, including the remainder of the GSA’s portfolio, are still subject to Biden’s harmful pro-PLA rule.
Almost 80% of federal construction contracts of $35 million or more were awarded by the DOD, VA and GSA’s LPOE program in FY 2024, according to an ABC analysis of usaspending.gov federal agency contract awards.
“ABC will continue to use successful litigation and advocacy strategies to restore merit-based fair and open competition in federal contracting so all American workers and all qualified construction firms can compete on a level playing field to build and rebuild America,” said Brubeck. “While we are pleased with the recent policy changes at the DOD and GSA, ABC will continue to urge adoption of pro-taxpayer policies governmentwide permanently.”
On Jan. 9, ABC and 24 other construction and business groups in the Build America Local coalition sent a letter to President Donald Trump requesting an executive order that would eliminate the Biden PLA mandate and restore fair and open competition on federal and federally assisted construction projects, which would save taxpayers an estimated $10 billion annually.
Through ABC’s grassroots campaign, ABC members can urge Congress and President Trump to stop harmful government-mandated PLAs on federal and federally assisted construction projects via the Fair and Open Competition Act, which will soon be introduced in the 119th Congress.
Non-ABC stakeholders can help by watching this video and contacting their lawmakers via the BuildAmericaLocal.com coalition website.
The Biden government-mandated PLA policy has been widely criticized by the construction industry, taxpayer watchdogs and lawmakers for needlessly inflating construction costs, delaying projects and effectively steering contracts to unionized firms and union labor at the expense of taxpayers and federal laws requiring fair and open competition.
“ABC has testified before Congress that, when mandated by government, PLAs increase construction costs by an estimated 12% to 20%, reduce competition from qualified contractors and their employees, steal money from the paychecks of token nonunion workers permitted on PLA projects and exacerbate the construction industry’s worker shortage,” said Brubeck. “Typical PLA mandates discourage competition from some of the best bidders and 9 out of 10 U.S. construction workers by forcing contractors to sign special union collective bargaining agreements, hire workers from union halls and apprenticeship programs and accept compulsory union representation on behalf of any members of their existing workforces. This exposes those workers to union wage theft of up to 34% of their compensation unless they join a union and vest in union benefits plans.”
On March 28, 2024, ABC and its Florida First Coast chapter filed suit in federal court to block Biden’s PLA final rule. The case is fully briefed and plaintiffs are awaiting a decision on the overall case and a ruling on the motion for preliminary injunction filed in April.
On March 5, Sen. Bernie Sanders and Rep. Bobby Scott reintroduced the ABC-opposed PRO Act in the 119th Congress.
ABC issued a statement opposing the PRO Act. The ABC-led Coalition for a Democratic Workplace also sent a letter and statement to the Hill urging members Congress to oppose the bill.
This radical legislation includes dozens of provisions that would violate workers’ free choice and privacy rights, force unions on employees who have voted against such representation, cost millions of American jobs, threaten vital supply chains and greatly hinder our economy. The bill boosts union membership at the expense of American workers and small businesses.
Of the many radical provisions in the PRO Act, the bill includes provisions that:
The reintroduction of this legislation represents the latest attempt to implement labor law policies that have previously been rejected by the judicial system, opposed on a bipartisan basis in Congress and/or withdrawn by the agencies that prior administrations tried to use to implement the policies unilaterally. All of these entities realized those policies violated the law, exceeded the authority granted to the implementing agencies or would cause serious damage to the American workplace.
Immigration Actions Under the Trump Administration and Employer Resources
Below is an overview of President Donald Trump's executive orders on immigration as well as recent administration actions on Temporary Protected Status.
Executive Orders
On Jan. 20, President Trump issued a flurry of executive orders related to immigration action items.
ABC recommends every contractor take all precautions in the hiring process to verify each potential employee is eligible to work legally in the United States, including using the E-Verify system.
ABC’s goal is to work with the administration and Congress to create a market-based merit visa system that allows people who want to contribute to society and work legally in the construction industry to do so. There is no place in our country for lawbreakers here to cause harm, and ABC opposes violence, coercion and intimidation of every kind. ABC supports the portion of the administration’s immigration strategy that focuses on lawbreakers.
Following the laws of supply and demand, mass deportations could constrain the availability of labor, which could stifle the ability of the industry to build the construction projects demanded by the marketplace. In other words, the supply of labor may not meet the demand, which could drive up costs, or consumer demand would adjust. And if the worker supply is constrained, employers would most likely adjust their employee value proposition to enhance their position in the marketplace. This is an important reason why we need a market-based merit visa system.
Read additional resources on recent immigration actions provided by ABC general counsel Littler Mendelson:
Temporary Protected Status
Venezuela
On Feb. 1, Secretary of Homeland Security Kristi Noem terminated Temporary Protected Status under the 2023 designation for Venezuela. TPS and related benefits associated with the 2023 designation will end on April 7, 2025. It is estimated that 348,202 Venezuelans will be impacted by the termination.
According to the Federal Register Notice:
“This termination is effective April 7, 2025. After April 7, 2025, nationals of Venezuela (and aliens having no nationality who last habitually resided in Venezuela) who have been granted TPS under the 2023 Venezuela designation will no longer have TPS. This termination determination does not apply to the 2021 designation of Venezuela for TPS, which remains in effect until September 10, 2025, or to individuals who are registered for TPS under the 2021 designation.”
Haiti
On Feb. 20, Secretary Noem partially vacated the July 1, 2024, notice that extended and redesignated Haiti for TPS. The announcement amends the period of extension and redesignation of Haiti for TPS from 18 months to 12 months, with a new end date of Aug. 3, 2025, and makes a corresponding change to the initial registration period for new applicants under the redesignation, which will now remain in effect through Aug. 3, 2025. For additional information, please see the Federal Register Notice.
ABC believes in protections for TPS recipients, who have been members of the construction industry workforce for years. Currently, it is estimated that between 70,000 and 100,000 individuals work in the construction industry through both TPS and DACA.
ABC members can visit the TPS webpage for status alerts.
ABC members are encouraged to reach out to counsel with any questions regarding the recent immigration actions.
On March 4, Sens. Josh Hawley, R-Mo., Bernie Moreno, R-Ohio, Corey Booker, D-N.J., Gray Peters, D-Mich., and Jeff Merkley, D-Ore., introduced the Faster Labor Contracts Act.
ABC and the ABC-led Coalition Democratic Workplace released statements opposing the bill.
The Fast Labor Contracts Act is a part of Sen. Josh Hawley’s Pro-Worker Framework for the 119th Congress, a labor policy legislative framework that includes sections of the ABC-opposed Protecting the Right to Organize Act and Warehouse Worker Protection Act, including language on ambush elections and banning so-called captive audience meetings. ABC opposes this framework, joining with 42 other members of the Coalition for a Democratic Workplace in a letter and with the Coalition for Workplace Safety in a second letter urging the U.S. Senate to reject it.
ABC believes that the Faster Labor Contracts Act, which will lead to the federal government controlling private sector contracts, is the worst provision of the framework. The bill would require employers to finalize negotiations with newly elected unions or face “binding interest arbitration of first contracts.” In practice, this means that a federal government bureaucrat will dictate exactly what is included in the first contract. Wages, benefits, safety procedures, paid time-off questions and every other aspect of workplace policy for a newly organized workplace will be imposed by the federal government’s designee. This government edict “shall be binding upon the parties for a period of two years.”
This legislation, which was previously included in both the ABC-opposed PRO Act and Employee Free Choice Act, would violate the U.S. Constitution. Mandatory arbitration would deprive both employers and employees of property rights without the requisite due-process safeguards. The arbitrator could force an employer already working on thin profit margins to spend thousands of dollars to overhaul their facilities, change subcontractors or alter promotion policies without any judicial oversight. Similarly, the arbitrator could cut the wages of employees without any consideration of legal fairness. Simply put, this bill could mandate a lose-lose contract on both the employer and the employees.
On Feb. 25, 2025, the U.S. House of Representatives narrowly passed H. Con. Res. 14, the Republican budget resolution, with a 217-215 vote. The resolution directs congressional committees to identify significant reductions in spending to account for the extension of tax cuts in the ABC-supported Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, other tax relief measures and energy and national security provisions. The House resolution also included several ABC-supported nonbinding policy statements.
ABC supported the resolution ahead of the vote, saying: “Associated Builders and Contractors appreciates Chairman Arrington and House leadership for their efforts on the Budget Resolution. This legislation is a crucial first step toward extending key tax provisions. Provisions to make permanent the Section 199A deduction, lower rates on business income, higher estate tax thresholds and increased deductions for business equipment and R&E are critical to the continued success of our members. All these provisions have either expired or are slated to sunset at the end of the year. Without the extension of these provisions, small construction firms will face a significant financial burden, paying higher taxes on a larger share of their earnings starting next year. ABC strongly urges Congress to take action and prevent small businesses from being hit with a devastating tax increase.”
The House budget resolution's passage initiates the reconciliation process, which enables Republicans to advance their fiscal agenda without the threat of a filibuster in the U.S. Senate. Meanwhile, the Senate is expected to consider its distinctly different committee-passed budget resolution in the coming weeks.
If the Senate approves its own resolution, both chambers would need to reconcile differences through a conference committee, producing a final resolution that, if passed, would unlock the budget reconciliation process. With Democrats all but certain to oppose the resolution unanimously, Republicans will need near-total unity to pass it with a simple majority.
In the latest development in the ongoing Corporate Transparency Act debate, the Treasury Department’s Financial Crimes Enforcement Network announced on Feb. 27 that it will cease enforcement of the CTA while it crafts a new set of regulations that will ultimately narrow the scope of the reporting regime. The release comes as the CTA’s reporting requirements were scheduled to take effect once again beginning March 21.
FinCEN announced that it “will not issue any fines or penalties or take any other enforcement actions against any companies based on any failure to file or update beneficial ownership information reports pursuant to the CTA by the current deadlines. No fines or penalties will be issued, and no enforcement actions will be taken, until a forthcoming interim final rule becomes effective and the new relevant due dates in the interim final rule have passed. This announcement continues Treasury’s commitment to reducing regulatory burden on businesses, as well as prioritizing under the CTA reporting of beneficial ownership information for those entities that pose the most significant law enforcement and national security risks.”
Additionally, FinCEN also made clear that a new proposed rule will be unveiled next month and will likely include significant changes to the existing reporting regime: “No later than March 21, 2025, FinCEN intends to issue an interim final rule that extends BOI reporting deadlines, recognizing the need to provide new guidance and clarity as quickly as possible, while ensuring that BOI that is highly useful to important national security, intelligence, and law enforcement activities is reported.”
FinCEN also intends to solicit public comment on potential revisions to existing BOI reporting requirements. FinCEN will consider those comments as part of a notice of proposed rulemaking anticipated to be issued later this year to minimize burden on small businesses while ensuring that BOI is highly useful to important national security, intelligence, and law enforcement activities, as well to determine what, if any, modifications to the deadlines referenced here should be considered.
Earlier this month, ABC joined more than 100 trade associations to request relief from the CTA. ABC will continue to monitor the department’s actions regarding the CTA.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs announced the reversal of a controversial Biden administration policy mandating project labor agreements on solicitations for construction contracts of $35 million or more. The policy change is expected to restore merit-based competition for taxpayer-funded contracts to build VA hospitals, outpatient facilities, office buildings, national cemeteries and other construction projects.
“Inviting all federal contractors to bid on and build critical hospitals and infrastructure for our veterans is the right move. It’s good to see the department follow the lead of other agencies by eliminating inflationary PLA mandate schemes,” said Ben Brubeck, ABC vice president of regulatory, labor and state affairs, in a statement to Engineering News-Record. “ABC will continue to push to make this policy a reality governmentwide.”
The VA’s FAR Class Deviation Memo—released to the public on Feb. 20—cites the change in policy on account of a January decision by the U.S. Court of Federal Claims that ruled in favor of experienced ABC members and other federal contractors who filed 12 bid protests against three federal agencies that mandated PLAs in solicitations for construction services.
According to the VA memo:
“The GSA’s new policy eliminates former President Joe Biden’s controversial rule requiring anti-competitive, inflationary, union-favoring project labor agreements on federal construction projects of $35 million or more––but only for GSA solicitations to build critical land port of entry projects,” said Brubeck in an ENR article (GSA Won’t Require Project Labor Agreements for Land Port of Entry Projects, 2/19/25).
Almost 80% of federal construction contracts of $35 million or more were awarded by the DoD, VA and GSA’s LPOE program in FY 2024, according to an ABC analysis of usaspending.gov federal agency contract awards.
“ABC will continue to use successful litigation and advocacy strategies to restore merit-based fair and open competition in federal contracting so all American workers and all qualified construction firms can compete on a level playing field to build and rebuild America,” said Brubeck. “While we are pleased with the recent policy changes at the DOD, GSA and VA, ABC will continue to urge adoption of pro-taxpayer policies governmentwide permanently.”
On March 28, 2024, ABC and its Florida First Coast chapter filed suit in federal court to block Biden’s PLA final rule. The case is fully briefed and plaintiffs are awaiting a decision on the overall case and a ruling on the motion for preliminary injunction filed in April
On Feb. 16, the Council on Environmental Quality sent an interim final rule, “Removal of National Environmental Policy Act Implementing Regulations,” to the Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs at the Office of Management and Budget for final review. The review at OIRA is usually the final step in the process before a rule is officially published in the Federal Register.
While the text of the interim final rule is not yet available, it is expected that this rule will implement the executive order Unleashing American Energy. In the order, President Donald Trump revoked the 1977 executive order granting the CEQ rulemaking authority and directed the CEQ to propose rescinding all existing NEPA regulations.
Federal agencies will still be required to comply with the NEPA statute and conduct environmental reviews for major federal actions. Following repeal of the CEQ’s NEPA regulations, the executive order directs the CEQ to provide guidance to federal agencies on implementing NEPA in their own regulations with the goal of expediting permitting approvals.
ABC will be meeting with the OIRA to express its support for creating a coordinated, predictable and transparent process to streamline permitting while maintaining necessary environmental safeguards.